[zwkrt]

In psychology and social services there is a push to use terms like “person with Autism” or “person with autistic traits” as opposed to “autistic person” as many people seem to enjoy not being primarily labeled by something that only makes up a small part of their personality and an even smaller part of their personhood.

Think of it like primitive vs value types in Java. ‘int a = 7; Integer b = 7’

“a” is 7, but “b” just has a pointer to 7.

—- I guess autistic people must not mind or even prefer to identify in this way, but it can really help in a therapeutic setting not to call someone “a borderline woman” or “a psychotic woman” because for better or worse labeling someone as mentally unhealthy is colloquially tantamount to an insult.

[zepto]

The point here is that autistic people who prefer this term don’t think it has anything to do with mental health or disease, and do think it’s a fundamental aspect of who they are, which can’t be separated.